SWR Workingman 12 - cab resonance?

[phyfe]

Hi, everybody.

Got a Workingman 12. Nothing wrong with it, per say (se?).

Problem: Apparently the cab/speaker combination has some resonant peaks going on. I can be playing along and suddenly one note will jump out way louder than the notes before or after. Usually happens on the E string. Also up high on the B string occasionally.

Anybody seen/heard this before?

Anything I can do about it?

I run the EQ pretty flat with very little of the 'Aural Enhancer'. Playing Lakland 55-02 with mids boosted slightly.

Thanks!
phyfe

 

[will33]

May be just typical boom hump/peaky response typical of combo amps. SWR's built in voicing dials out lowmids already.

Make sure the speaker cabinet portion has some sort of lining inside. If not, add some. If it does that's about as good as it's going to get.

Make sure speaker and all hardware are screwed down tight. Boost the 250 slider some and consider that your "even" starting point.

Then play a note that booms out a lot and start pulling sliders down and back up again until you find the one that takes the boom away.

Then leave it like that and play some notes that normally don't boom out and see if they have any balls left in them.

Compromise somewhere in the middle for as even a balance as you can get.

If that doesn't work out may want to consider shopping for a different amp that sounds nice to you without a lot adjusting.

 

[phyfe]

Thanks, will33.

I would rather play through a WTX500 and a D112XLT, but there's this matter of $$$ at the moment.

Yeah, I've heard of the SWR voicing. Don't think I like it, but it's what I have right now.

I had thought to check the cab to see if it is lined. I will look and correct it if it's not.

Maybe some high-end decals will help. I'll check Ebay.

Thanks again!

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I can be playing along and suddenly one note will jump out way louder than the notes before or after. Usually happens on the E string. Also up high on the B string occasionally.

Anybody seen/heard this before?

The usual causes are a cab that's insufficiently braced, insufficiently damped and too small. With many cabs you can have all three of these deficiencies, making the cab virtually unplayable. There's not much you can do about the cab being too small, but you can add bracing and damping. See the fEarful threads for a one example of how a cab should be built.